Reuters Odd News Summary

October 19, 2012|Reuters

Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.

Vienna museum to cover nude male posters after outcry

VIENNA (Reuters) - A prominent Vienna museum has decided tocover the "intimate parts" of three naked male soccer playerson big posters put up in the Austrian capital after they causedan outcry. "We got many, many complaints," Leopold Museumspokesman Klaus Pokorny said about the public display of theplacards used to advertise its "Naked Men" exhibition due toopen on Friday.

Namesake, mugshot mix-up lands Mexico cop in murder line-up

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - What's in a name? A stunned Mexicanpoliceman found himself drafted into a murder investigationidentity parade after a police database confused his mugshotwith his namesake - a suspected killer. To make matters worse,a policeman from a different precinct then said he recognizedthe mugshot as that of "El Pelon," a main suspect in thekilling of a prominent politician's son - until he saw him inthe line-up and realized his error.

Cow manure from dairy farms to boost skiers at Vermontresort

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Cow manure will beused to power skiers to the top of a Vermont resort this winteras part of a growing effort to generate electricity from abyproduct of the state's iconic dairy farms. Killington, one ofthe largest ski resorts in New England, will use 300,000kilowatt hours of electricity made from manure generated on 13farms this year to run its K-1 Express Gondola to the top ofthe resort's namesake 4,241-foot peak, a spokeswoman for theresort said on Thursday.

Maine town is shaken by Zumba prostitution scandal

KENNEBUNK, Maine (Reuters) - Every summer, vacationers cometo this lighthouse-studded stretch of the Maine coast to nibbleon lobster and admire the scenery. Now locals are confrontingallegations that dozens of men from the surrounding area havealso been visiting the picturesque town of Kennebunk torendezvous with a Zumba fitness instructor charged with runninga prostitution business out of her downtown studio.

Barley genome breakthrough may lead to better beer

LONDON (Reuters) - An international consortium ofscientists has published a high resolution draft of the barleygenome in a move that could not only improve yields and diseaseresistance but may also hold the key to better beer. "Thisresearch will streamline efforts to improve barley productionthrough breeding for improved varieties," said Professor RobbieWaugh, of Scotland's James Hutton Institute, who led theresearch.

Australian "misogyny" speech prompts change to dictionary

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A fiery speech against sexism byAustralia's first woman prime minister has prompted thetextbook of Australian English to broaden the definition of"misogyny" to better fit the heated political debate ragingdownunder. Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week used aparliamentary debate to launch a strong attack againstconservative Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, accusing him ofbeing a misogynist, and her speech has since become an Internethit.

Get your checkbook out - you've come last, S.League says

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - As if a rock-bottom finish inSingapore's S.League was not bad enough, the city-state'ssoccer bosses are now planning to punish the weakest teamfurther with fines, according to a local newspaper. Under a new"carrot-and-stick" approach, while the reward for winning theSingaporean title was being boosted, five-figure penalties wereto be introduced for make-weights, TODAY newspaper reported onWednesday.

UK police sorry for using stun gun on blind man

LONDON (Reuters) - British police apologized on Wednesdayfor using a stun gun on a blind man after officers mistook hiswhite cane for a samurai sword. Officers were responding to "anumber of reports that a man was walking through Chorley armedwith a samurai sword", when they confronted Colin Farmer, whowas on his way to meet friends in a pub last Friday, in thenorthern English town.

EU settles on threesome to collect Nobel peace prize

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Almost a week after winning the NobelPeace Prize, the European Union has finally decided who willcollect the award. Rather than one person making the trip toNorway on December 10, the EU has decided it will send threepeople -- one to represent each of its main institutions: theEuropean Commission, the European Council and the EuropeanParliament.